John Lassiter

1937-2005

Pioneering Prudential Insurance executive

August 30, 2005|By Erika Slife, Tribune staff reporter

John Lassiter came from a long line of leaders. As one of the first African-American executives hired by Prudential Insurance Co. of America in the 1960s, he continued his family's tradition of success.

He quickly earned a reputation for being one of the most influential insurance agents in the country.

"When I came into the business in 1970, I heard about John Lassiter and his accomplishments and his agency," said Sol Hicks, a Prudential agent in Atlanta. "I looked at him as a man I wanted to emulate, a man I wanted to follow."

Mr. Lassiter, 68, of Chicago died of complications from prostate cancer on Friday, Aug. 26, at Northwestern Memorial Hospital.

Mr. Lassiter was born in Chicago to a father who was a union leader and a mother who paved a path for blacks as an administrative secretary. An active child, he was a leader on the playground, excelled in sports and had ambitions that matched the drive of his family, said his brother, Herbert.

"He always showed strong leadership potential," his brother said.

After high school, Mr. Lassiter attended the University of Illinois, earning a degree in statistical economics in 1959. He came back to Chicago after graduating and became a statistician with the U.S. Department of Labor.

At a party in Chicago that summer, he he met a young woman in her final year of nursing school. Shortly after, he proposed to Rosielyn Utley and they got married in 1959.

In 1961, the couple had their first son, John Lassiter III. Mr. Lassiter also got a new job as a claims authorizer for the Social Security Administration. He left in 1963 to work for Prudential, setting a record in his first six months by selling $500,000 worth of life insurance, his family said.

He continued to set sales records and eventually was named a lifetime member of the Million Dollar Round Table, an international association for financial professionals.

Employees at Prudential said it was hard to miss his contributions to the company.

"There was a hall of fame wall of agents who were inducted to the Million Dollar Round Table, an organization which represents the top 6 percent in the world of all insurance and financial executives," said Douglas Gaines Sr., an agent at Prudential. "And John Lassiter's picture was among the hall of fame."

Mr. Lassiter, who took Gaines under his wing, mentored more than 50 people who were inducted by the organization, Gaines said.

"He had a deep commitment to young people and helping young people reach their potential," said Abena Joan Brown, co-founder, president and producer at eta Creative Arts Foundation, where Mr. Lassiter volunteered. "He certainly was encouraging to all of the young people we had around here and a model of what can be achieved when one sets out to do that."

That commitment extended to his family.

"He was a phenomenal father. He was very passionate about education and learning," said his son Eric. "He showed us the world as children."

Mr. Lassiter also contributed to his community. He was active in the Rainbow/PUSH Coalition and was on the Advocate Health Care board of directors.

"He's someone that's always looking out for others, looking for ways to help others, especially people of color," said his friend John Rogers Jr., chief executive officer of Ariel Capital Management.

Mr. Lassiter retired in the early 1980s and started his own financial services corporation, Financial Designs of Illinois.

Services will be held at 10 a.m. Thursday at Trinity United Church of Christ, 400 W. 95th St.